Athletes, construction workers, soldiers and others enjoy society's penchant for establishing one's own identity by looking and appearing “fashionably cool” by wearing doo rags, skull caps and bandanas. Often the sole function of this type of helmet underwear is for appearance or to keep one's hair organized during an activity. Very often, for example, construction workers will don a mandatory or functional protective helmet or hard hat and continue to wear the non-functional fashionable helmet underwear beneath it.
Much attention has been given to the research and development of energy-absorbing components that are affixed within or integrally formed with helmets, particularly in the sports field. Techniques have been devised to measure the results of various forces imposed on these helmets and there has been certain advancements in the manufacture of helmets particularly for sports applications. On the other hand, hard hats worn by construction workers have not received the same amount of research and development attention and are rather crude in their design providing only limited protection to the wearer.
The athletic industry is a larger, profitable and more glamorous industry and since children at young ages are also susceptible to injury, advances have been made to protective equipment. However, significant research continues to focus attention on injury to athletes and relatively little attention is given to the injuries of less glamorous construction workers. Most sports helmets have chin straps in addition to sophisticated internal protective components. On the other hand, the unsophisticated construction hard hat does not even use a chin strap and for the most part is constructed only of a single layer of rigid material.
To appreciate the need for secondary helmet underwear and additional energy absorption beneath primary hard hats or helmets it is necessary to understand the how helmets are constructed and tested according to their varying industry protocol standards.
Modern helmets are made from a variety of polymers. Depending on the intended use and the manufacturer, modern hardhat shells may be made of a thermoplastic such as polyethylene or polycarbonate resin, or of other materials like fiberglass, resin-impregnated textiles, or aluminum. Because it is strong, lightweight, easy to mold, and nonconductive to electricity, high-density polyethylene is used in most industrial hard hats. These materials perform differently in terms of impact attenuation in various environments (extreme cold to heat). In general as temperature drops polymers lose elasticity and have a negative effect on energy absorption. The present invention, when worn next to the body, is near the human body temperature and remains supple which enhances its ability to attenuate impact energy.
The National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSEA) sets standards for testing reconditioned football helmets as well as newly manufactured helmets.
When testing football helmets, NOCSAE standard involves mounting a helmet on an instrumented head model and impacting it a total of 20 times onto a specified impact surface. The testing includes various impact energies, standard and random locations under various environmental conditions. Acceleration measurements are taken to determine if the helmet meets an established Severity Index (SI) requirement. SI is a scientifically accepted measurement of human injury tolerance. Some required impacts are equivalent to running in excess of 12 MPH into a flat surface, which stops a player's head suddenly. Some players run faster than this but seldom if ever experience an impact as violent as the NOCSAE test.
Section 5.2 of the Standard Performance Specification For Recertified Football Helmets (helmets that were in use and are being reconditioned for further use) NOCSAE DOC (ND) 004-00496m06, June 2006, “The peak severity index (SI) of any impact shall not exceed 1200 SI for any helmet manufactured on or after Jan. 1, 1997 and 1500 SI manufactured prior to Jan. 1, 1997.
Previously used football helmets are retested under the NOCSAE 5.2 of the Standard Performance Specification For Recertified Football Helmets NOCSAE DOC (ND) 004-00496m06 June 2006.
NOCSAE requires in section 7.1.2 Specification For Recertified Football Helmets NOCSAE DOC (ND) 004-00496m06, June 2006, that each recertifier (a company that reconditions and tests helmets that were in use) must test an adequate and representative sample size in order to be reasonably sure that helmets returned to use, but not actually tested, may meet the requirements as set out in NOCSAE DOC.001 and NOCSAE DOC 004.
Also as required in NOCSAE section 7.2 Specification For Recertified Football Helmets NOCSAE DOC (ND) 004-00496m06, June 2006, recertifiers are faced with processing a wide range of products in various ages and condition. It is therefore necessary to divide the products submitted for recertification into categories: Good—Repair-Reject.
This NOCSAE standard is an example of the need of the present invention for secondary helmet underwear for proper protection. Human inspection is the only means used in identifying helmets chosen for testing to determine Severity Index in a Drop Test. The chance of a helmet being not being tested, but reconditioned exists. That untested helmet may contain catastrophic defects not visible to the human eye and finds its place in use on the field.
The New York Time, Dec. 12, 2007, Alan Schwartz, Some Used Football Helmets Under Scrutiny; indicated that only 2% of 1.6 million helmets reconditioned are actually drop test procedure.
Under NOCSAE Standard Performance Specification For Newly Manufactured Football Helmets, NOCSAE DOC (ND) 002-98m05 July 2005, sates in section 5.4 “The peak severity index of any impact shall not exceed 1200 SI.
American National Standards for Personal Protection, (ANSI), sets standards for Protective Headware for Industrial Workers for Type I and Type II Hard Hats. ANSI standard ANSI Z89.1-2003, Industrial Protective Helmets, are classified as. Type I Hard Hats—intended to reduce the force of impact resulting from a blow to the top of the head and Type II Hard Hats—designed to provide protection against both side impact and blows to the top of the head. Both types are tested for penetration resistance. There is also electrical shock resistance testing.
Impact Energy attenuation measures a helmet crown's (or top) capability to reduce the force of an impact from falling objects to the top of a wear's head. ANSI Z89.1-2003 testing states: 8 pound steel ball dropped at a free fall height of 5′, The force transmitted in transmission testing shall not exceed 4500N (1000 pounds) for any one testing and the average shall not exceed 3780N (850 pounds)
Energy attenuation measures a helmet lateral (side) impact capability to reduce the force of an impact from falling objects to the top and side of a wear's head. ANSI Z89.1-2003 testing states: A helmeted head form (11 pounds) is dropped onto two types of steel anvils, flat, and hemispherical, 1000 maximum peak “G”.
The energy absorption properties of the present invention provide impact attenuation and reduce the severity index for both new and reconditioned helmets.
Recent studies have shown that traumatic brain injury (TBI) is (The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; www.cdc.gov/ncipc/tbi/TBI.htm) defined as a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the function of the brain. A TBI can result in short or long-term medical problems. Of the 1.4 million who sustain a TBI each year in the United States: 50,000 die; 235,000 are hospitalized; and 1.1 million are treated and released from an emergency department. The number of people with TBI who are not seen in an emergency department or who receive no care is unknown. Direct medical costs and indirect costs such as lost productivity of TBI totaled an estimated $56.3 billion in the United States in 1995.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; www.cdc.gov/ncipc/tbi/TBI.htm) estimates that at least 5.3 million Americans currently have a long-term or lifelong need for help to perform activities of daily living as a result of a TBI. TBI can cause a wide range of functional changes affecting thinking, sensation, language, and/or emotions. It can also cause epilepsy and increase the risk for conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other brain disorders.
A study: “An Examination of Occupational Fatalities Involving Impact-Related Head Injuries in the Construction Industry”, published in the Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, April 1998, by Janicak, Christopher Allen PhD (Janicak, Christopher A. (1998). “An examination of occupational fatalities in the construction industry involving impact-related head injuries.” Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 40, 1, 347-350.) stated head injuries are the reason for which workers' compensation claims are most frequently filed and have the highest average cost per claim. The purpose of the study was to identify the construction industry trades with the greatest risk for an occupational fatality due to impact-related head injuries. Proportionate mortality ratios identified the highway and streets construction trades as having over three times the expected number of fatalities due to impact-related head injuries than expected, while the heavy construction trades had over two times the expected number of fatalities due to impact-related head injuries. The majority of these fatalities are the result of vehicle incidents and the worker's being struck by various forms of equipment that were in the process of being moved.
In 1995, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) identified the head as being the major source of injury in approximately 24% of all occupational fatalities. Other statistics dramatically tell the story of head injury in the United States. Each year approximately:                1.4 million people experience a TBI        50,000 people die from head injury        1 million head-injured people are treated in hospital emergency departments        230,000 people are hospitalized for TBI and survive        